Need to re-install windows: can I just download and use a windows .iso file to create a bootable UDB? | Razer Insider
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Need to re-install windows: can I just download and use a windows .iso file to create a bootable UDB?


My razer pro 17 laptop (from December 2019) will no longer boot to windows after a recent windows 11  Insider update.
No repair options are working, including a windows reset. My only option now looks to be creating a bootable USB pen drive and going from there.

 

Is it ok to create a bootable pen drive from a windows 11 iso file from microsoft, or do I need a specific razer iso?
If I can re-install windows once booted from the pen drive, can I then re-install the additional razer software?

Any help/advice on how I can re-install windows would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Also, how do I recover my windows OEM license key, if needed?

Regards,

John

Best answer by FiszPL

Synapse should only update the drivers.

Go to device manager - right click on those without drivers → Update driver → Search automatically for driver.

If it’ll not find it, again right click it → Properties in new window go to Details → Hardware IDs (screenshot below - stolen from the internets):

Then you just copy VID_PID value (like the one highlighted in a screenshot) and search for it in a google - you’ll get a hint what driver you’ll need to satisfy the device and os.

 

You can also try the easy way like driver auto find tools. for eg. Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html

for nvidia - check the nvidia experience tool etc… - but these are vendor specific so still in some cases you’ll have to search via VID_PID combination.

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8 Replies

  • Author
  • Insider Mini
  • 6 replies
  • June 25, 2025

Looking at similar support topics, its seems that I need to download a specific image from Razer. However, when I go to the  Razer Online Services → System Recovery Image page and enter my laptop’ serial number, it  tells me to ‘Please contact customer support for Razer Blades older than 2017’. However my  laptop is late 2019.

 

I understand my laptop is out of warranty (and so cannot use Razer support), but does this mean I cannot get access to a Razer recovery image? If not, how/where can I get such an image?
If so, are there any issues when using an image provided by from Microsoft that I need to be aware of? Are there any additional steps that I would need to do if I used such an image (e.g. download/install any razer-specific drivers, install additional Razer software - Sybase, Cortex, etc)?

 

Any information greatly appreciated. I have been unable to work for several days now (I am a software developer and the Razer laptop was my development machine) and if I cannot get this resolved soon I will have to bite-the-bullet and buy a new PC. It is vert frustrating that I cannot find any information on the best way to resolve my issue.

 

John

 

 


FiszPL
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  • VANGUARD
  • 7373 replies
  • June 25, 2025

Just download fresh iso from microsoft.


  • Author
  • Insider Mini
  • 6 replies
  • June 25, 2025

Just download fresh iso from microsoft.

I think that is what I have to do as there is no other way and seems to be no access to the Razer ISOs (or support) once your device has passed its warranty. Pretty disappointing this - I don’t understand why they don’t make them freely available.

I have also read that it is a good idea to have the wifi drivers available as otherwise the wifi card may have issues when using a standard windows ISO. to reinstall. As I don’t have access to the current drivers, I guess I will need to find the specs of the wifi card and download the most appropriate given that information.

Should I reformat the C drive before re-installing windows, or just do an in-place re-install? Formatting would be better, but I haver also read that this can cause issues due to the recovery partition.
The current C drive doesn’t contain much, when viewd from the trouble-shooting command prompt (which loads on drive x, not c). I can examine the C drive, and this contains a file called blade.icm - what is this and should I save/preserve this? There are also folders called Recovery and RecoveryImage, with the former looking to contain the damaged system, (windows 11, current date) and the latter the factory reset image (windows 10). Should I keep either of these?

Once I have re-installed windows, do I need to re-install anything Razer-specific? Presume I need Synapse, and can use that to update/download other drivers, no?

Anything else I need to be aware of that is Razer specific? 


FiszPL
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  • 7373 replies
  • June 26, 2025

I’d just nuke all partitions, and do a fully clean install.

I’d not bother about drivers, because it’ll should automatically install (at least most of them) from Windows Update directly.

Yes, save the blade.icm file somewhere - it’s for display color calibration, so you can use it on new OS.

After installing OS, install Synapse - then it’ll also automatically download razer-specific drivers.


  • Author
  • Insider Mini
  • 6 replies
  • June 26, 2025

I’d just nuke all partitions, and do a fully clean install.

I don’t think this is a good idea - especially the MSR and System partitions.

Looking at the partitions on the main HDD, I see these:

  Partition 1: 15GB  (15GB free) - Recovery
  Partition 2: 100MB (100MB free) - System
  Partition 3: 16MB  (16 MB free) - MSR
  Partition 4:Blade Pro 17: 460GB (176.8GB free) - Primary
  Partition 5: 1000MB (1000MB free) - Recovery

I don’t understand why there are now so many partitions, especially 2 Recovery partitions, and all look to be basically empty apart from 4.

When I open a command prompt in the recovery mode this opens on drive x, which I presume is a temporary virtual recovery drive. My old C drive now seems to be D, and all my files are there (I have taken a backup of the important stuff under my User account). Is there anything else I should consider backing up?

The C drive now contains the files I mentioned previously - I have also taken a copy of all those files (including blade.icm) just in case.

 

I am going to try re-installing windows on the existing partition 4 first...if that doesn’t work, I will consider re-partitioning…

 

Thanks for your help,

John


  • Author
  • Insider Mini
  • 6 replies
  • June 26, 2025

Ok, I finally managed to re-install windows 11. First attempt failed (not sure why), but now windows is installed and the laptop boots. I also managed to take a full (ish) backup of the old C-drive and the recovery C-drive (if needed).

I then installed Synapse 4. I can’t see how I can get this to update my drivers - seems to only control lighting and keyboard.

There was no bluetooth (need this for my mouse!). I downloaded and installed the  latest windows/intel drivers, but this won’t start. Just seems that no bluetooth is available.

Other driver issues are:

   - Base System Driver: no driver installed, none available
   - PCI Devices: 2 of these (slots 1 and 16), drivers not installed, none available
   - PCI Simple Communications Controller (PCI bus 0)
   - Unknown Device (on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant system), no drivers installed or available
   - Microsoft Basic Display Adaptor (PCI Slot 1), cannot start (strange this - I have two external displays connected via a docking hub, and all displays working)
   - various others (XMOS, Saitek game controllers, etc) but I am not worried about these - will look later

I then installed Synapse 3, which uninstalled Synapse 4. But no changes, except it gives a different name to my laptop.

Not sure where to go from here. I would like the laptop to be functioning well, i.e. bluetooth working and no important driver issues, before I start configuring windows and download/install the apps I need.

How can I resolve these issues? How can I download razer-compatible drivers? Is there any information on this - seems to be no support at all from Razer once you are out of warranty….

 

Any advice/pointers much appreciated….

 

John


FiszPL
Vanguard
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  • VANGUARD
  • 7373 replies
  • Answer
  • June 27, 2025

Synapse should only update the drivers.

Go to device manager - right click on those without drivers → Update driver → Search automatically for driver.

If it’ll not find it, again right click it → Properties in new window go to Details → Hardware IDs (screenshot below - stolen from the internets):

Then you just copy VID_PID value (like the one highlighted in a screenshot) and search for it in a google - you’ll get a hint what driver you’ll need to satisfy the device and os.

 

You can also try the easy way like driver auto find tools. for eg. Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/detect.html

for nvidia - check the nvidia experience tool etc… - but these are vendor specific so still in some cases you’ll have to search via VID_PID combination.


  • Author
  • Insider Mini
  • 6 replies
  • June 27, 2025

I installed all the drivers from Razer for my laptop model, updated the BIOS and installed the latest NVIDIA drivers via the NVIDIA app, and now everything is looking good except for one item - the Base System Device which is:
      Intel Corporation - JHL7540 Thunderbolt 3 NHI [Titan Ridge 2C 2018]
      PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_15E8&SUBSYS_30001A58&REV_06

I have seen other reports on  this in Razer support (but for other laptop models), and they seem to indicate that this driver should be in the Razer-provided intel chipset drivers, but I installed those and still no driver. Can’t seem to find one on-line either.

I will post a new topic for this, and this one can now be considered closed.

Thanks for your assistance,

John


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